Domain, Specialties : Physique nucléaire
Research Unit : DPhN / LEARN
Summary
The internship will involve simulating the possibility of using the neutrons produced by the IFMIF-DONES facility to carry out nuclear physics experiments, and in particular to produce radioactive nuclei.
Full description
IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility DEMO Oriented Neutron Source) [1] will be the world’s most intense neutron source. Currently under construction in Spain, it will be used to study the effects of neutrons in the structural materials to be used in future fusion reactors. The neutrons will be produced by a 50 MeV deuteron beam striking a liquid lithium target. While the main use of the facility will be for the study of fusion materials, a preliminary study carried out by our team [2] has shown that IFMIF-DONES is of great interest for a number of applications, such as neutron imaging, radioelement production, fundamental studies, etc. ….
In this internship, we propose to study the possibility of setting up nuclear physics experiments in an experiment room located behind the irradiation zone, where a collimated neutron beam could be available. Two types of experiments are planned: gamma spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei produced by fission of an actinide target; and measurement of nuclear reactions of interest for stellar nucleosynthesis. For these two experiments, the aim will be to evaluate production rates for comparison with other facilities, and to estimate the background noise induced by neutrons and gamma rays, in order to define their feasibility. Indeed, these experiments use detectors that are highly sensitive to radiation, and could be blinded or fail to operate in excessively noisy environments.
The Geant4 software package, written in C++ and developed by CERN to deal with radiation-matter interaction, will be used for these simulation purposes.
This work will complement work already carried out on the use of neutrons in IFMIF-DONES, and will be the starting point for defining future experiments to be carried out in the facility.
[1] https://ifmif-dones.es/
[2] J. Hirtz et al., “Neutron availability in the Complementary Experiments Hall of the IFMIF-DONES facility”, Fusion Engineering and Design 179 (2022) 113133, arXiv:2201.08711
Location
Saclay
Internship conditions
- Internship duration: 4 months
- Level of study: Bac+4/5
- Training: Ingenieur/Master
- Continuation in PhD thesis: No
- Application deadline: 1 février 2025
Experimental skills
Language : English
Computer languages and software:
Geant4
Links
Supervisor
LETOURNEAU Alain
Phone: +33 1 69 08 76 01
Email :
Head of the laboratory DPhN / LEARN
LETOURNEAU Alain
Phone: